Dedicated to exposing the abuses of human rights, threats to the security of the free world, and attacks on general decency committed by Communist China, and to influencing policy in the free world to ensure these egregious acts do not go unopposed.

Tuesday, February 28, 2006

From the China Freedom Blog Alliance:Shaun Kenney joins the growing movement to stop the Communist Olympiad (boycott petition here). Meanwhile, the Korea Liberator has the latest Stalinist news, but has yet to comment on the Ignorant Comment of the Day - a hideously bad piece by Anthony Faiola (Washington Post) on the Kaesong industrial park. Have fun with that one, fellas!

Canada file: This quarter joins Joe Warmington and Peter Worthington (TorontoSun) in mourning the passing of Bob MacDonald, a Sun columnist for decades, and a China e-Lobby Member for many years.

Communists threaten "disaster" for Taiwan: As expected, Communist China threw a tantrum over Chen Shui-bian's move to end the National Unification Council (seventh item), shrieking that the move would "bring disaster to Taiwan society" (BBC). Given the hundreds of missiles the Communists have pointed at the island democracy, said "disaster" would largely come from the Communists themselves in a military attack. The U.S. reaction, while far from perfect, was a bit more sober. Speaking of the BBC, perhaps the next time they examine a "press attack" against the democratically elected Chen, they might want to remind their readers that the "mainland papers" must all speak the Party line (the news agency's survey of Taiwanese opinion was marginally better).Russia works with Communist China on Iran even as it suffers from Communist pollution: One has to wonder if Vladimir Putin has eye trouble. He is more than willing to see eye to eye with the Communists - his chief weapons customer - on the Iranian mullahcracy and the Darfur carnage (Weekly Standard blog Worldwide Standard), despite the heavy pollution in Communist China's northeast that has led to yellow snow - yes, you read that right - falling in Sakhalin (Radio Free Asia via Epoch Times).

If you thought the United Arab Emirates regime was a questionable port operator, take a look at the China Ocean Shipping Company, a Communist-run firm that "was able to build its own terminal" (Newsmax) in Long Beach, California despite having been caught trying to smuggle in 2000 AK-47s into the Oakland in 1996. Making matters worse, the folks at the Port of Humboldt Bay (near Oakland) want to let the Communists "build and manage a marine terminal" (Eureka Times-Standard) there.

Epoch Times office in Hong Kong attacked; Israel staff goes on hunger strike: A group of thugs attacked the Epoch Times building in Hong Kong and destroyed the print shop computer (Central News Agency via Epoch Times). It was the latest in a series of crimes against the paper, the most dramatic of which was the beating of Yuan Li (lead, second, sixth, and last items. The paper's Israeli staff is now on a hunger strike to protest the violent acts.

Guangzhou businessman assaulted after protesting friends of cadres, who black out the story: Li Gang must have been friendly with the cadres, for they let him run his own business in Guangzhou. That must have been in his mind when he tried to negotiate with a cadre-friendly developer about a bus route that had been cancelled. The cadres sided with the developer - and Li was beaten to within an inch of his life by thugs (Epoch Times). The Communists then ordered a complete media blackout of the beating, leading one reporter in the city to say that "he now hates his profession."

Communists to built airports and nuclear power plants: It appears the national cadres have found two areas of acceptable graft - ahem, construction - for the locals: airports (BBC) and nuclear power plants (The Scotsman).

The state of the workers in the workers' state - health: The Hong Kong Sun (via the Central News Agency and the Epoch Times) has found that occupational illness afflicts roughly 200 million workers in Communist China.

Baby selling cadre sent to jail: Ten conspirators in a baby selling ring (fourth item), led by the Communist-appointed head of an orphanage, were sent to prison for "buying and selling dozens of babies who were then adopted abroad" (BBC). Nearly two dozen other cadres were involved in the scheme.

More on the Communists' Korean colony: TKL's above comments on media bias were, unwittingly, confirmed by Bill Powell of TimeAsia, who seemed more interested making defector Jung Sung San out to be a laughingstock than to notice the harrowing story of Stalinist prison camps Jung is trying to bring to the stage (for that, Powell wins Ignorant Comment of the Day). Perhaps if Powell was following Ahn Hyok's series on life in those prisons (Daily NK, has the latest, see third, fifth, tenth, second, and second items for the other installments), Powell wouldn't be so snide. Andrew Salmon, Washington Times, comes close for a ridiculous profile of a dovish Korean war vet. Meanwhile, over 330 Korean churches are joining to highlight the human rights abuses in SNK, and only Daily NKnoticed. Daily NKalso ponders how the Stalinists literally cleared out Shinuiju.

Iranian mullahcracy boasts of "big" oil deal to come with Communist China: Mehdi Safari, the deputy foreign minister for the mullahs, told the regime's propaganda television that a "delegation led by the Chinese head of the national development and reform commission, Ma Kai, will be soon in Tehran to sign agreements related to exports of big oil consignments to China" (Agence France Presse).

Canada file - Communists looking for more Canadian resources: China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) is "eyeing a takeover of a major Canadian oil company - possibly Husky Energy Inc. or Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. - to gain a stake in Alberta's oil sands" (Globe and Mail). The Communists have acquired pieces of Canada's natural resource wealth before (fourth item). Since then, however, the federal government holding out the welcome mat was turfed by Canada's voters (Alberta's welcoming provincial government is still in place). How the new government reacts remains to be seen.

Communists offer to replenish Bolivia's missile stash: The Communist regime has "offered to replace shoulder-fired missiles" (Bill Gertz, Washington Times) that Bolivia lost last year after local military officers helped the U.S. destroy them, lest they "fall into the hands of terrorists linked to the new ruling Movement to Socialism." The Communists' missile offer goes in tandem with "Beijing's long-term strategy to undermine U.S. influence in the region and other parts of the world."

Japanese firms souring on Communist China: Three Japanese companies have decided to pull out of Communist China's wireless phone "market" - where Communist-owned firms still dominate. The latest firm to leave is Mitsubishi (United Press International via Washington Times).

Chen Shui-bian ends Unification Council: Taiwan's elected President made good on his pledge to scrap the largely defunct body (sixth, third, and fourth items) which was supposed to "oversee the island's eventual unification with China" (BBC). Chen's reason for killing the panel, as summarized by the Washington Post, were simple and elegant "only the Taiwanese people can decide whether they want to rejoin the mainland."

As President Bush prepares to visit India, Alex Perry (TimeAsia) and Fareed Zakaria (Newsweek) examine the growing friendship between the two (although they raise the Communist China issue far more tangentially than they should).

More on Communist China and the rest of the world: Charles Smith (Newsmax) gives a healthy reminder that, whatever one thinks of Dubai Ports World (yours truly has been all over the map on that one) there are some port managers far more menacing - like Hutchison Whampoa. Meanwhile, Evan Davis (BBC) writes on the EU reaction to the Communist shoe surge (last and seventh items) with such flippancy he seems to be almost asking for ICOD honors, see above for the winner).

The latest on the lack of media freedom in Communist China: Freezing Point is back, but without the editors who made it what it was (Epoch Times); Communist China indicts cyberjournalist and dissident Li Yuanlong for what it calls "incitement to subvert state power" (Human Rights in China via Boxun); and Reporters Without Borders (via Boxun) laments the fate of Yu Dongyue.

Tiananmen Mothers founder wants money frozen by Communists: The aforementioned Ding Zilin has sent an open letter to the regime calling on it to unfreeze an account that held money "donated for the humanitarian assistance of family members of June 4th victims" (Boxun).

Sunday, February 26, 2006

Since the controversy over the Jyllands-Posten cartoons may never go away, I thought I'd bring up (again) a point that has been largely lost in the discussion.

At present, we are being led to believe that the "Muslim world" (keep in mind, the overwhelming majority of Muslims are not allowed to speak at all unless it serves the purposes of the ten-cent general, overly powerful political hack, or fatwa-addicted cleric that has the nation in which he or she lives locked in a despotism) is speaking out against the cartoons because of the offense to Islam. This is giving certain apologists the opportunity to mention Iraq, Palestine, and other supposed crimes of the planet's non-Muslims against the faith.

Yet the Chinese Communist Party - a regime that specifically places itself in Muhammed's place as Allah's last prophet, has occupied a Muslim nation for over 56 years (EastTurkestan), and has killed over 210,000 Muslims within that occupied nation through open-air nuclear tests (yes, you read that right) - gets a pass. Osama Bin Laden and his fellow terrorists have demanded the Israelis evacuate Palestine, the Americans leave Iraq, and the Spanish abandon Spain, but they have said absolutely nothing about Communsit China's atrocities - which also include shooting political prisoners, razing mosques to the ground, and banning all East Turkestani children from attending any mosques still standing.

So why would a bunch of violent killers claiming they murder in Islam's name try to remind everyone of the medieval Crusades while staying silent on an occupation during which more Muslims have died than during all eight Crusades combined?

If your answer had something to do with the Communists' aid to terrorists, you're right.

The CCP doesn't want the democratic world to know this, but it is the largest supporter of terrorism on the planet. Among the Communists' beneficiaries are the Iranian mullahcracy, the Syrian Ba'athists, Saddam Hussein, and al Qaeda itself). No wonder the terrorists keep their mouths shut on East Turkestan, and scream only about actions taken by or in European and North American nations.

So what does this tell us about the supposedly devout Muslim terrorists? It tells me their "faith" is nothing but a cover for their hunger for power and complete lack of respect for human life. There as Muslim as Hitler was Buddhist (that was the faith that saw its swa-stika twisted by the Nazis).

I've said it before, and I'm saying it again: for Osama bin Laden, Ayatollah Khameini, al-Zawahiri, al-Zarqawi, and all the rest,there is no God but the Chinese Communist Party.

Friday, February 24, 2006

From the China Freedom Blog Alliance: The Korea Liberator examines the notion of "reformers" in Communist China, and scores the Enlightened Comment of the Day.Guangdong party boss calls for more "autonomy": Zheng Liping, party boss in the deeply troubled Guangdong Province (next to last item) has called for villages in his province to have "full autonomy within the confines of the law and constitution" (Asianews). Of course, Communist games with the "law and constitution" are what has lead to Guangdong's troubles - Taishi, Shanwei, Sanshan (fifth item), and Sanjiao (third item) - in the first place.

Press crackdown damaging to Communist image, except in the eyes of Time Warner: The Communist crackdown on the press (Freezing Point, ZhaoYan, etc.) is "starting to alter the image of China overseas" (Christian Science Monitor), i.e., people are finally starting to notice. Sadly, that does not appear to include Time Warner, who is eagerly "seeking publishing partners in China to license the mainland editions of a number of its titles" (South China Morning Post via Asia Media).

Ching Cheong case delayed by skittish prosecution: Meanwhile, another victim of the Communist press crackdown, Singapore Straits-Times reporter Ching Cheong (sixth and eighth items), has had his case delayed a month by the prosecution, which sent the case "back to the State Security Department for a more thorough investigation" (Boxun), i.e., a better shot at jailing Ching without looking ridiculous.

EU to impose tariffs on Communist shoe exports: The European Union announced plans to "phase in import duties of 19.4 percent on some Chinese-made footwear" (United Press Int'l via Washington Times) in response to a Communist surge in shoe exports (last item). Needless to say, the cadres were miffed (BBC).

On Communist China and the United States: Andrew C. McCarthy, in National Review Online, wonders why Senator Hillary Clinton cares so much about the United Arab Emirates running some American ports, but was so unperturbed at Communist China in the same role during her husband's Administration. Meanwhile, U.S.-Communist China military exchanges have "quietly" (Washington Times) resumed.

On the Communists' Korean colony: The Stalinist regime has finally agreed to talk about "the fate of South Korean prisoners of war and civilians suspected of being captured and held by the North" (Washington Times, second item), but it still won't call them that. Meanwhile, Daily NK ponders Korea without Stalinist-in-chief Kim Jong-il.

Thursday, February 23, 2006

Over the last few days, a court in Britain has been dealing with the issue of the right of publication of the diaries of the Prince of Wales. Yours truly, being fairly ignorant of British law in general and of royal prerogatives in particular, does not intend to weigh in on the particulars of the case itself. Ditto on the politically delicate issue of what a member of the royal family is supposed to say (and not say) about the affairs of state in a constitutional monarchy. Where I do want to attention to be brought is what the case, and the diary around which it is centered, tells us about Prince Charles himself, the man who would be Britain's Charles III.

Nearly seven years ago, the Prince of Wales caused a stir by refusing to show at a state dinner where the guest of honor was then-Communist leader Jiang Zemin. During the ensuing row (as I believe the term is used in Britain), a good many people were surprised and pleased to see Prince Charles' political sympathies; most believed it was driven largely by his oft-professed admiration for the Dalai Lama.

In fact, the diary ("The Handover of Hong Kong or The Great Chinese Takeaway") reveals a far deeper and more well-rounded antipathy for the murderous regime that is the Chinese Communist Party. From his immediate concern over the fate of Martin Lee to his more perceptive notice of "the sneaking worry about creeping corruption and the gradual undermining of Hong Kong's greatest asset - the rule of law" (cited by the BBC), Prince Charles showed his instincts on the Communists were far better than more than most in high office - elected or otherwise - then or now.

I honestly don't know how the Prince of Wales is perceived on his home island or in Canada, but I am fairly certain he is better received there than here in the U.S., where memories of his late wife still run deep. Not to say those memories don't run deep in Britain and Canada as well, but the Prince has the added disadvantage of American suspicion of royalty that's been largely hardwired into the collective consciousness for the last two centuries.

Still, those of us who have tracked the brutality of the Communist regime should take a moment to offer thanks to His Royal Highness. However, the case turns out, the anti-Communist community needs all the friends it can get these days, particularly those as intelligent as Prince Charles has shown himself to be.

As I understand British royal custom, Prince Charles will not be able to speak as freely on this and other subjects when he becomes King Charles. As such, the longer he is free to comment on the "appalling old waxworks" (sixth item) in Zhongnanhai, the better it will be for all of us.

Therefore, it is without reservation that this American says: God Save the Queen, and the Prince of Wales.

From the China Freedom Blog Alliance: The Korea Liberator approvingly notes Congressional anger at the State Department's cold shoulder to refugees from Stalinist North Korea and ponders dovish South Korea's reaction to the latest Stalinist perfidy.

Canada file: Jason Loftus, Epoch Times, notes and comments on the battle over nine Communist television propaganda channels in Canada (rejecting them would be an excellent way for the new government to ease some anxieties).Prince Charles' anti-Communism comes into view again: Whatever the result of the trial over the right to publish diaries of Prince Charles, the heir to the British crown has been revealed once again as a strong anti-Communist. The reports confirm that the Prince's decision to skip a 1999 state dinner with then-Communist leader Jiang Zemin was a "snub" (Washington Post), and his instincts on Jiang himself and his fellow Communists are uncannily accurate - and quite funny (BBC).

Communist China won't buy Russian grain: Moscow is unhappy that Communist China has refused to import any grain from Russia (United Press International via Washington Times).Vatican appoints pro-democratic Hong Kong Bishop as Cardinal: Given the history of Joseph Zen (twentieth, seventh, sixth, second to last, third to last, and tenth items), his appointment as Cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI should be an excellent sign. However, the new cardinal, while sticking to his support for democracy, "said he hoped to help establish official ties between the Vatican and Beijing" (BBC). Whether or not that will mean more Shanghais (last item) was not discussed. Also reporting: Cybercast News

Reaction to the Global Online Freedom Act: Representative Chris Smith's Global Online Freedom Act is still in the draft stage, but it is already generating reaction (Asiapundit). Meanwhile, former Labor Secretary Robert Reich makes some good points on Washington's hypocrisy vis a vis American tech companies and Communist China, but he seems to forget the "Republican chairman of the House subcommittee on human rights" (TomPaine.com) - namely Mr. Smith - has been one of the "good guys" on this subject for years. That said, the dubious Ignorant Comment of the Day label goes to former New York Mayor Ed Koch (Newsmax, third item), who actually likened dissidents in Communist China to terrorists in the U.S.

Activist says human rights abuses may cost Communist China the 2008 Games: Dui Hua Foundation Executive DirectorJohn Kamm told Asianews that the Communist regime "'may not be able to reach its determined foreign policy objectives, and much less host the 2008 Olympics,' because of the situation of human rights in its national territory." From his word to God's ear, we hope. In the meantime, here's the place to go for anyone looking to help make a stand against the Communist Olympiad.

More (lack of) press freedom news: New York Times researcher ZhaoYan was given another month to mount a defense against charges of "leaking state secrets" (Washington Post, last item); given that Communist leader Hu Jintao has a personal stake in Zhao's persecution (fourth item), the extra time is unlikely to help. Tim Luard, BBC, finds the furor over Freezing Pointstubbornly, and surprisingly, refuses to die. However, the cadres have now expanded the crackdown to include films and television shows that have a mix of live action and cartoons (Variety).

Tiananmen activist out of jail, but Communist torture has maimed his mind: Yu Dongyue, just out of prison after seventeen years for throwing paint at a portrait of Mao Zedong during the Tiananmen protests, "is severely mentally ill" (BBC). A friend of Yu's explained the reason: "A fellow prisoner said Yu had been tied to a electricity pole and left out in the hot sun for several days. He was also kept in solitary confinement for two years and that was what broke him."

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

It may surprise some (if not all) that I'm bringing up the matter of Trade Minister Emerson now, but I think a very important angle of the appointment has been missed.

Down here on the south side of the 49th parallel, we see party-switchers (as we call them) more frequently than Canadians do; so, with all due respect to Vancouver, the issue of for whom or what a constituent votes is not what bothers me. The greater problem - and dare I say, danger - is what it portends for the current government policy, particularly toward Communist China.

David Emerson was no ordinary Liberal. He was a minister in a Cabinet that repeatedly drove the anti-Communist, pro-China-democracy community to apoplexy. In particular was the concern of the ChiComs worming their way into Canada's bountiful natural resources - including Albertan oil (fourth item, Edmonton Sun) and Saskatchewan's oil and uranium (Globe and Mail) - and Canadian held resources abroad (BBC). Emerson, as Industry Minister, appeared unfazed by this (Wall Street Journal via Pittsburgh Post-Gazette).In fact, the performance of the late Martin government was the main reason so many from outside Canada paid attention to last month's election in the first place. We were hoping that the Conservatives in government would be as strongly anti-Communist as they had been in opposition (Epoch Times).

Now, to be fair, Stephen Harper has been Prime Minister less than three weeks. We have seen no budget, and thus we can still hope the amount of foreign aid going to Communist China from Ottowa (UPDATE: whoops! Ottawa) is reduced to a reasonable number (i.e., zero). Furthermore, the appointment of Stockwell Day as Public Safety Minister could be terrible news for the Communist espionage network in North America (Hansard), and terrific news for its victims. However, when placed in the context of the Cabinet as a whole, we are presently, and sadly, closer to our worst fears than our best hopes.

Now is not the time to ask whether or not David Emerson "abandoned" his Vancouver constituents who voted Liberal. We should instead ask how much Harper et al sacrificed the interests of Canadians who - on this issue at least - voted Conservative.

Yours truly hit the wrong button, and thus the NOTD was posted despite being half-finished. Below is the rest. The first part is here.More on the Communist internet crackdown: Helle Dale, Washington Times, has not-too-kind words for American tech companies helping the Communist crackdown.

Communists announce aid for peasants - later - but no change on land seizures: Chen Xiwen, dubbed "a top Chinese official on rural issues" by the BBC, announced more aid for peasants, starting, at the earliest, next month. However, the regime's plan "stops short of ending China's decades-old policy that all land is owned by the state," i.e., get ready for more Hanyuans and Shanweis.

Jiang Zemin ally on PSC to quit due to cancer: Huang Ju, a member of both Jiang Zemin's Shanghai faction and the Politburo Standing Committee, "is being treated for pancreatic cancer" (BBC) and will soon quit. His departure will continue to bring more power to current party boss Hu Jintao, who is already remaking the party - in the images of Mao Zedong and Fidel Castro (Epoch Times).

From here to the great beyond: Happy 274th Birthday to George Washington.From the China Freedom Blog Alliance: The Korea Liberator has some food for thought on the prospect of the liberation of China from within. TKL also examines recentsigns of anti-Stalinism in the North, the dovishness of South Korea's youth, and the role of Congress - in particular Jim Leach's office - in pushing the State Department to follow the North Korean Human Rights Act.

More on the Communists' Korean colony: Daily NKreports the latest (and very good) comments from North Korean Democratization Alliance head Hwang Jang Yop. In The New Republic, T.A. Frank has the latest "Today in Despotism" installment (the Stalinist regime is the last item).

Japanese Trade Minister meets Wen Jiabao: Trade Minister Toshihiro Nikai's talks with the Communist premier included "the disputed gas fields in the East China Sea, which both countries want to exploit" (BBC, see also tenth, sixth, fourth, and fourteenth items).

Chen stands by pledge to scrap moribund unification group: Why are so many people are worried about the fate of the National Unification Council (sixth and third items), which hasn't met in six years, and its National Unification Guidelines, which predate the island's transition to democracy? Because scrapping them, asn Taiwan's elected President Chen Shui-bian wishes to do, would get the Communists upset. Luckily, Chen, who called the guidelines "absurd products of an absurd era" (BBC), is made of sterner stuff.

Dalai Lam visits Israel: Tibet's spiritual leader took questions about everything from the occupation of his homeland by the Communists to the obsession of money (Epoch Times).

Communist China pushes Google for openly acknowledging censorship? Communist China, to whom Google surrendered, may still kick the firm out for " operating without a licence" (BBC). However, the real problem may be Google's insistence it report each and every time it knuckled under to the cadres' censorship demands; China Business Times demaned to know: "Does a business operating in China need to constantly tell customers that it's abiding by the laws of the land?" This quarter's question: will Google give up what little high ground remains?

Tuesday, February 21, 2006

For weeks, yours truly has been largely silent (at least in this space) on the now famous (or infamous, depending on one's point of view) Jyllands-Posten cartoons. For the most part, this was because the issue seemed unrelated to the victims of Communist persecution. However, as one would expect, my far-sighted and compassionate friends in the EastTurkestanGovernment in exile have linked them, and in so doing, they have revealed far more about Osama bin Laden, Ayatollah Khameini, and Bashar Assad than these three would like us to see.

As one should have expected, the Syrian Ba'athist regime and their allies in the Iranian mullahcracy used this to their advantage. It is all but certain al Qaeda has already begun using the ensuing chaos as a recruitment tool. However, this was not the only reaction to the cartoons to come from the Muslim world. Contrary to widespread public perception, pro-American, pro-freedom Muslims are speaking out on the cartoons - in particular, the beleaguered and persecuted people of East Turkestan.

Sadly, few seemed to notice. The reasons for this, maddening as they are, still hold: the Middle East gets more attention than Central Asia (thus when the term "occupied nation" comes up, infinitely more people think Palestine than East Turkestan); the Central Asia independent republics are so numerous it's hard to keep up with them, let alone remember an occupied nation right next door; and the biggest reason of all - Communist Chinese propaganda.

Ever since September 11, 2001, the Communists have insisted that anyone in EastTurkestan who opposes Communist rule is a "terrorist" and a supporter of Osama bin Laden. Never mind that Communist China itself is the largest supporter of terrorism on the planet (among the cadres' beneficiaries are Tehran, Damascus, Saddam Hussein, and al Qaeda itself). Never mind that the people of East Turkestan (largely known as Uighurs) are deeply pro-American. Never mind that their version of Islam, the mystical and persuasive Sufi variety, is nearly the exact opposite of the radical and violent Wahabbist and Khomeinist strains that fuel al Qaeda and the Iranian mullahcracy.

In fact, the East Turkestan GIE was nearly alone among vocal Muslims (lest we forget, the overwhelming majority of the Muslim world is unable to speak freely) making this point: "The Jyllands-Posten cartoons, offensive as they are, did not touch a single hair on the head of any Muslim." That's a point that the Syrian and Iranian regimes, to say nothing of al Qaeda, hoped no one would notice.

There are other things the terror masters are hoping remain unnoticed. In fact, when I see the terrorists and their admirers take to the streets, or the torch, or any other weaponry, I am more angered by what they don't say, or haven't said, than what they do say.

After all, while they take to the streets over 12 Danish cartoons, they say nothing about multiple nuclear weapons tests by Communist China that killed over 210,000 of their fellow Muslims. The eagerness to demand Israel evacuate Palestine, the U.S. leave Iraq, and the Spanish leave Spain disappears when the conversation moves to the fifty-year-plus occupation of East Turkestan by an anti-religious Communist regime. Those who would "rise up" over desecration of the Koran (something yours truly admits is insulting) have been completely silent about a regime that has razed mosques to the ground and recently banned all children in East Turkestan from even attending mosques (third item).The Communists have gone so far East Turkestan ("Xinjiang") in an attempt to "Sinicize" it. Yet the terrorists, who can't call Jerusalem anything but al Quds, are silent as their fellow Muslims suffer. Saudi Arabia, one of the leading Islamic moralizers on the cartoons, even considers the Communist regime a worthy investment (eighth item).

Why is this so? I submit that the terrorist leadership, from Osama, Ayatollah Khameini, and al-Zarqawi on down, are, in addition to everything else, rank hypocrites. Their supposed concern for Muslim persecution victims dries up when the victimization embarrasses their chief benefactors. Thus, those Muslims suffering at the hands of the Communist Chinese regime receive not even a word of sympathy, while the Communists - who have murdered more Muslims than either Israel, America, or the Crusaders (from all eight combined) - get off scot free.

The implication is clear: the terrorists care nothing for Islam; it is but a tool for them to use, a symbol to manipulate, a disguise for their hunger for power and complete lack of respect for human life. They have as much right to the symbols of Islam as Adolf Hitler had to the symbols of Buddhism (one of which, the swastika, has become forever tied to the Nazi thieves). In truth, for Osama, Khameini, and the rest, there is no God but the Chinese Communist Party.

More on the would-be colony: The special economic zone in Shinuiju may be ready to go next month, and over 25,000 residents will go whether they're ready or not (Daily NK); it will be interesting to see if the Stalinist choose an administrator without corruption charges hanging over his head (sixth and fourth items). Meanwhile, former prisoner Ahn Hyok has another painful installment of life in a Stalinist prison; the title says it all: "Prisoners Catching Rats for Survival" (Daily NK).

Washington Post series on blogs concludes: In today's final installment, the Postfollows the story of blocked blogger Zhao Jing (fifth, tenth, and third items), and reveals the painful truth about the internet in Communist China: "surveys show most Internet users are members of the urban elite who are benefiting from China's booming economy and have avoided writing about politics," i.e., the cadres are not only blocking cyberdissidents, but have also tailored their web to ensure an apathetic, or even sympathetic, netizenry.

More on Communist censorship: Reporters Without Borders gives its "sickened" (Boxun) response to the shell-like return ofFreezing Point and more journalists under arrest. Liu Xiaobo, Epoch Times, marvels at the ability of a Communist to lie, and lie repeatedly, about this subject. Finally, lawyer and Washington Times columnist Bruce Fein runs away with the Ignorant Comment of the Day for whitewashing American tech companies who are aiding the Communist internet crackdown.

Practitioners on hunger strike in Daqing prison: Over 20 Falun Gong practitioners held in Daqing prison "have been on a hunger strike for nearly one month to protest the persecution of Falun Gong in China" (Epoch Times). Despite this, the persecution continues."Buried beneath the glittering skyscrapers of booming Shanghai are countless stories of the miseries of families." This was how Gu Qinger (Epoch Times) began the story of Wu Gengqiang, who had his house destroyed by the cadres in that city.

Japanese trade minister in Communist China: Toshihiro Nikai "headed for Beijing" (BBC) earlier this morning. Among those who will see him is Communist Premier Wen Jiabao.

EU may slap tariff on Communist shoes: The European Union has "found evidence that Chinese and Vietnamese firms were dumping footwear on European markets" (BBC). Said dumping (selling exported goods below cost to crowd out local competitors), "appeared to be fuelled by the actions of the governments in Beijing and Hanoi." The EU could respond with a 20% shoe tariff as soon as April.

More on the satellite states: The editors of the Washington Post offers a very (and deservedly) guarded endorsement of the Administration's new push for Iranian democracy. Daily NK reports new findings of anti-KJI literature in the Stalinist North, while Michael O'Hanlon (Washington Post) is far harsher to Gordon Chang's Nuclear Showdown than yours truly was (fifth item).

The Washington Post examines Communist China's Great Firewall: The capital's better-known paper does its usual above-average job where a story on human rights in Communist China is concerned (for national security issues, DC readers should look to the Times). In the case of the "Great Firewall" - shorthand for the cadres' attempt to control internet content - the Post examines the fall of Wikipedia (plus comments from itsdefenders), the determination of Freezing Point's formereditors (plus the story that likely played a major role in its original shutdown), and the part-comical, part-tragic saga of the "sensitive words" (i.e., Communist-banned ones). The paper also reprints posts (December 29, January 4, January 14, and February 17) from Zhao Jing, whose blog was shut down by Microsoft on Communist orders (fifth and tenth items).

More on human rights in Communist China: An anonymous "secret agent" reveals how the Communists dehumanize their own, and how he managed to restore his sense of self, in the Epoch Times. Sara Davis, author of Song and Silence: Ethnic revival on China's southwest borders, laments the cadres' use of "thugs to enforce their will and silence opposition" (Wall Street Journal Asia via Boxun). The reign of terror in Shanwei continues (Epoch Times). The Committee to Protect Journalists laments the lack of press and internet freedom in Communist China (Epoch Times).

Communist China pledges to wipe out power shortages this year: The cadres even had the audacity to claim they "could even reach the point of having too much electricity" (BBC). Where they managed to find 9 million kilowatts between last month and today (fifth item) was not revealed.

More thuggery against Falun Gong practitioners - in the United States: A Falun Gong practitioner with a history of run-ins with Communist agents overseas found documents stolen from inside his car (Epoch Times). Meanwhile, four hunger strikers protested the earlier assaults (Epoch Times) from San Francisco (twelfth item) and Atlanta (lead and second items). The victim of the latter, Epoch Times technician Yuan Li, talked to the paper about his ordeal.

U.S. wants cadres to open up internal economy, but won't use trade barriers to force issue: Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Karan Bhatia told the BBC that the Bush Administration "was 'perfectly prepared' to use trade measures to force the Chinese government to grant US firms greater access to China's domestic market." However, in the same interview, Bhatia insisted the U.S. is "not going to resort to protectionism." What options that leaves Washington was, luckily for Bhatia, left undiscussed. Communist China's trade surplus with the U.S. passed $200 billion last year (fifth, sixth and fourth items).

Tibetans' support for Dalai Lama environmental directive lands nine in Communist jail: After hearing that the Dalai Lama called "for Tibetans to stop wearing the skins of protected animal species" (London Sunday Telegraph via Washington Times), the Tibetans "responded with enthusiasm" and burned so much of the offending clothing that the Communist occupiers took it as "a political statement of support for the Dalai Lama" and arrested nine people.

India competing with Communist China for Russian arms: The longtime rival of the Communists now stands right behind them in terms of the value of Russian arms purchases, and may well help Russia "rescue the Yantar Baltic Shipyard" (United Press International via Washington Times, last item). Now, if we can only convince Moscow to send all its major arms sales India's way . . .

Ignorant Comment of the Day: Today's dubious honor winner is Dave Young of the Boston Consulting Group, whose paean to Communist China's role in the global economy (Washington Times) completely avoids the issue of national security. J.W. Marriott, Jr., from the hotel chain of the same name, takes the runner-up position with a similarly naive call for the U.S. to open itself up to more tourists from Communist China (Washington Post).

More Commentary on Communist China: John J. Tkacik, Jr., opines in the Weekly Standardthat the Bush Administration is "near the end of its rope with China" - let's hope he's right. Bryan Walsh, TimeAsia, reviews exile Yiyun Li's A Thousand Years of Good Prayers.

Communist China pressures India on Taiwan as two Congressmen stand up for it: Sun Yuxi Communist China's ambassador to India, told the media that the regime hopes "India will . . . refrain from sending the wrong signals to Taiwanese independence forces" (UPI via Washington Times). Meanwhile, Congressmen Dana Rohrabacher and Steve Chabot defended the island democracy and its elected President Chen Shui-bian in the Enlightened Comment of the Day (Washington Times).U.S. expands tough trade talk to piracy: One day after some new bluster on Communist China's trade practices (sixth item), the U.S. moved into the area of piracy, at least according to Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez: "If China ever aspires to be a legitimate, respected worldwide player and a key component of the world community, they have to play by the rules. We are (going to be) aggressive. That's our attitude and we are focused on achieving our results" (BBC). Such talk comes with it a new taskforce dedicated examining the bilateral trade relationship (BBC), which lead to a massive $200 billion imbalance (fifth item).

Ignorant Comment of the Day: To be fair to Google Vice President Elliot Sarge, he did call for the U.S. to "treat censorship as a barrier to trade, and raise that issue in appropriate fora." That said, he still tried to defend his company knuckling under to the Communists, and in the absence of anything more egregious, he takes the dubious honor (hat-tip, Kathryn Jean Lopez, National Review Online, and member since 2002).

More on Communist China and the United States: Lev Navrozov, Newsmax, turns his attention to the Communists' NATO knock-off, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (second item).

Thursday, February 16, 2006

This came in from the BBC about two hours ago: "China has decided to allow the re-opening of an investigative newspaper shut down last month, its editor has said. The Bingdian (Freezing Point) will hit news stands on 1 March, Li Datong said."

Good news, right?

Wrong.

"Mr. Li said he was called in on Thursday to be informed about the decision to revive the Bingdian, which is a supplement of the China Youth Daily. He said he was also told that he and his deputy editor Lu Yuegang no longer had their jobs there, but were being transferred to the paper's news research office" (emphasis mine).

In other words, the Communists will bring back Freezing Point, but it will be all warm and fuzzy for the cadres.

Just in case you don't take my word for it, here is Li's: "The soul of Bingdian has been extinguished. Only a shell is left. If the staff decided to protest, no-one will do the job. It will be an empty paper on 1 March."

Other China Freedom Blog Alliance members gets the top stories before C e-L rolls out of bed: Time to give props to those who picked up this quarter's slack yesterday. The Communist cybercrackdown was all the rage, again, in Washington, as noted by BetweenHeaven and Earth and the Korea Liberator. The other folks who covered it were the Epoch Times, BBC, Cybercast News, and United Press International via Washington Times. Gene Koprowski, also from UPI (viaWashington Times), noted that commercial speech (i.e., advertising) seems to have avoided the crackdown, leading some people to say silly things. The Communists, of course, defended their crackdown (BBC), as did James V. DeLong, who ran away with Ignorant Comment of the Day in his egregious Washington Times column. The editors of the Washington Post and Washington Times also weighed in. BHaE also had the Canada File covered with a reprint of the Winnipeg Sun piece on Kunlun Zhang's efforts to bring the cadres who tortured him before he escaped to the Great White North to trial; the Sunalso has an excellent piece on the Communist intimidation - in your cities; in Canada. Meanwhile, Korea Liberator also has the latest on the Administration's decision to support Iranian dissidents, a small but commendable first step towards supporting liberation; Voice of America via Epoch Timesand the BostonGlobehad more on this, while Cybercast News hears Senator Sam Brownback's words of wisdom on CommunistChina and Iran'smullahcracy, and Nora Boustany (Washington Post) has the latest on the Iranian bus union struggle (second item).Other stuff from the Korea Liberator: Their news link post is leading to me to consider outsourcing this quarter's work on the Stalinist colony to them. They also comment on the Stalinists' love for their ICBMs, provide background on the reactor issue, lament the Stalinist abductions (and the dovish South Korean response), and make note of the furor among ex-cadres in Communist China over the closing of Freezing Point (last item); Epoch Times has more on the support the late magazine is getting.

Communist China wants the U.S. to keep Japan in check: That's what Willy Lam, of China Brief, is hearing; more unnervingly, the cadres may be successful on this. Paging Mr. Ishihara . . .

Satellite photos show Communist military buildup: Recently released satellite photos "provide a new look at China's nuclear forces and bases images that include the first view of a secret underwater submarine tunnel" (Bill Gertz, Washington Times). Oddly enough, the folks behind the photos' release, the Federation of American Scientists, tried to "suggest (the) Chinese ballistic submarine threat may be overstated" (UPI via Washington Times). Here's why they make that claim: "The photos show China's single ballistic sub at a dock. It 'has never gone on patrol or traveled beyond Chinese regional waters,' FAS said." Perhaps someone should remind FAS that if "Chinese regional waters" include areas near the island democracy of Taiwan, the threat is not "overstated," it's confirmed.

Now the U.S. will look closer at Communist China's trade practices: News of the bilateral U.S.-Communist China trade imbalance passing $200 billion (fifth item) led U.S. Trade representative Rob Portman to decided to "focus more closely on China's trade policies" (BBC). Any reason the U.S. couldn't have done this, say, $2oo billion ago?

Communist China-India cooperation only makes them more willing to battle each other: According to Wisconsin-Eau Claire Professor Tarique Niazi, the rivalry between India and Communist China for control of southern and southeast Asia has become so intense that " several cooperative initiatives between Beijing and New Delhi that are underway at bilateral, regional and global levels . . . only fuel their competitive tensions" (China Brief).

Saudi Arabia - self-labeled defender of Islam - joins in the persecution of EastTurkestan: The cadres have struck a deal with Saudi Arabia on oil and other things, including "a Saudi loan to fund a development project in China's largely Muslim region of Xinjiang" (China Brief); the project will almost certainly make Communist efforts to erase the culture of the native Muslims both easier and more valuable.Speaking of oil: Rupert Wingfield-Hayes (BBC) examines the future of Communist China's energy consumption.Huawei makes another entry into Europe: The firm that helped Saddam Hussein integrate his air defenses is partnering with Vodafone (BBC).

Tibet envoys in Beijing: Communist China and envoys from the Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual leader, are holding another round of talks on "allowing the region some form of autonomy" (BBC).Chicago EpochTimes staff strikes for Yuan Li; San Francisco staffer discusses info thefts: The Chicago staff of the paper began their hunger strike on the same day Youzhi Ma talked about two break-ins in his San Francisco home.

Hunger strike news: James Burke, Epoch Times, examines the worldwide appeal of the strike, while Ding Xiao, Radio Free Asia (via Epoch Times) finds support in Communist China is so strong the "the hunger strike could go on for a whole year with two persons at a time for 24 hours," despite a Communist crackdown on strikers (Sound of Hope Radio via Epoch Times). Zhang Tianliang, also in the Epoch Times, ponders the strike's future.

Communists admit to over 100,000 corrupt cadres: In an attempt to show it was "fighting corruption," Communist China admitted to catching 115,000 cadres violating the law (Washington Post). Meanwhile, the Epoch Times, examining the Bank of China embezzlement case (fourth and sixth items), speculates that America is no longer a safe haven for this sort.